Warnings at the Wedding Feast

Fourteenth Sunday After Pentecost / Fourteenth Sunday of Matthew, September 6, 2015 II Corinthians 1:21-24, 2:1-4; Matthew 22:2-14 Rev. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. The Gospel passage this morning is one that we do not hear every year in our lectionary. It is appointed for the Fourteenth…

The First Fruits of Achaia: Setting Ourselves for the Ministry of the Saints

Thirteenth Sunday After Pentecost / Thirteenth Sunday of Matthew, August 30, 2015 I Corinthians 16:13-24; Matthew 21:33-42 Rev. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. Many times when we’re reading something, we come across a phrase or two in parentheses, and we might skip over that part because it’s…

Lenten Evangelism #3: The Last Judgment

This sermon can be heard as an audio recording via Ancient Faith Radio. Sunday of the Last Judgment, February 15, 2015 Rev. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. Today our series on preaching the Gospel—evangelism—continues with the Sunday of the Last Judgment, commonly called “Meatfare Sunday,” because we…

Your Own Personal Jesus: Christmas and Paul

Sunday after the Nativity of Christ, December 28, 2014 Rev. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. Christ is born! Today we continue to celebrate the Nativity of our Savior Jesus Christ. While the world may think that the Christmas season is over, for us it continues. And because…

The Soldier, the Athlete and the Farmer

St. Demetrios the Myrrh-streaming / Sixth Sunday of Luke, October 26, 2014 Rev. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. In today’s epistle reading from Second Timothy, which is designated for the feast today of St. Demetrios, St. Paul gives us three images of what it means to live…

Is the Bible “above” the Church? A Chat with Moses

I recently engaged in a sort of thought experiment about what it would be like for someone who believes that the Bible is “above” the people who actually produced it to have a chat with the earliest name associated with the production of the Scriptures. Here’s the result: “Moses, Genesis is above you.” “Um, I wrote it.” “But it is above you.” “Yeah, well,…

The Return to God

Sunday of the Prodigal Son, 2012 In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. One of the principal themes that we meditate upon during these weeks that precede Great Lent and during the Fast itself is forgiveness. And it’s no wonder, because the Christian Church is really the only place in which forgiveness makes…